New Haven school administrator has edgy nighttime hobby

By Pam McLoughlin

Updated
12:24 pm EDT, Monday, September 24, 2018

Stratford, Connecticut -Saturday, September 8, 2018: John Tarka, assistant principal at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, in front of one of his installation art pieces on the grounds of the old American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, that signifies the latin words Tanax and Propositi and is translated into English as tenacious and purpose. Besides getting commissions for his artwork, Tarka is also a street artists who installs his work on abandoned buildings under the cloak of darkness.

Stratford, Connecticut -Saturday, September 8, 2018: John Tarka, assistant principal at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, in front of one of his installation art pieces on the grounds of the old American

Stratford, Connecticut -Saturday, September 8, 2018: John Tarka, assistant principal at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, in front of one of his installation art pieces on the grounds of the old American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, that signifies the latin words Tanax and Propositi and is translated into English as tenacious and purpose. Besides getting commissions for his artwork, Tarka is also a street artists who installs his work on abandoned buildings under the cloak of darkness.

Stratford, Connecticut -Saturday, September 8, 2018: John Tarka, assistant principal at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, in front of one of his installation art pieces on the grounds of the old American

NEW HAVEN — James Hillhouse High School Assistant Principal John Tarka slips out of bed in the wee hours of the morning under darkness, drives to an abandoned, neglected or overlooked building and with help of friends, breathes life into the space.

Together, when the world is asleep, they attach a wooden canvas of his artwork to a vertical surface — not only to add beauty but to send a message steeped in education or social justice.

His most recent “installation” was at the old Shakespeare Theater in Stratford.

It’s an artfully painted T and P inside colorful, intricately designed circles that he considers a “rally for educators,” and a message to students.

The letters stand for “Tenax Propositi” — Latin for tenacity and purpose.

“It’s a good message as we start the school year,” he said. “You hold on to what you believe in…The best educators have to be steadfast.”

It’s not clear if his unapproved artwork hangings break any laws — Tarka doesn’t want to think about it — but no one’s complained so far, because he brings color, design and meaning where there was none.

Tarka, 39, is a self-taught artist who along with livening public spaces uses his art to reach students.

Maureen Bransfield, former principal when Tarka was an English teacher at New Horizons School, an alternative high school, said it was “poignant” the way he used art to connect with students.

She said his artwork always has a universal message, a double meaning.

“He used it in the classroom as a teaching tool and to connect — to help them (students) see life from a different perspective,” she said. “He was brilliant at it.”

Tarka has other installations throughout the area — as well as more at the old theater, including a colorful, “To be or not to be?” — written to spark thought two weeks after Donald Trump was elected president.

Another of his installations depicts a clenched fist and an outreached hand with the words: “Be strong, be kind.”

Tarka said he loves “breathing new life” into spaces that have been overlooked and hopes that someone walking their dog might come upon a piece that makes him or her think.

In what might be the ultimate endorsement of his designs, Tarka said, “A lot of my work gets stolen.” He takes it as a compliment.

Much of Tarka’s artwork contains circles with intricate designs and usually people take away from those circles what they choose, he said.

To him, each circle represents the circle of life and is like a burst of creativity.

“The designs are really my take on the cultures and different groups of ethnicities working together,” he said. “Sometimes people look at my designs and apply it to their culture.”

Some see mandalas, Celtic designs, medieval embroidery, Cossack designs, Eastern European filligraphy or even Iroquois and Mohican tattoos.

It was the power of those circles that prompted food truck owner Nikki Georgiadis of Stratford to commission Tarka to paint a blank side of her “Rita’s Pitas” food truck selling Greek fare from her grandmother’s recipe file.

She first saw his work at Tribus Beer Co., where Tarka painted a commission job — a bold mural of intricate circle designs covered in hops. To the Tribus owners, they are tribal circles symbolizing their desire to be part of the community or tribe.

Georgiadis saw “mandalas,” a spiritual symbol of harmony — she has one tattooed on her ankle — and so Tarka painted a bold pattern of his circles on the truck.

Tarka’s work is breathtaking, she said.

“Mandalas protect you from evil things,” said Georgiadis, who has one tattooed on her ankle. “Some people live by it.”

Tarka comes from a family of educators, including his mother and his father, who was president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.

Tarka drew with his father as a child for fun, but has never had any formal art training.

He dabbled in street art in his youth in Pittsburgh, and began his installations around here about six years ago.

He has installed pieces in areas of Stratford, where he resides with his wife and two young children, as well as in Bridgeport and Milford.

The way his process works for installations is that Tarka gets an artistic inspiration with an educational or thought-provoking component, cuts wood panels, creates the art at home, then goes on the installation mission with friends.

“We’re back in bed before our wives wake up,” Tarka said.

He doesn’t sign his street installation work, although his commissioned work is signed.

“I don’t feel a need to share who did it,” he said.

Tarka, who favors a cross-armed stance like Mr. Clean — even when he’s at school — said that as an assistant principal he strives to be communicative, transparent and accessible to teachers and students.

“I lead by compassion,” he said.

Art is a passion for Tarka, but his career as an educator is a treasure.

“Knowing everyday you have the opportunity to help people — it stirs my soul,” he said.

Of students, Tarka says: “I wonder if I’ll ever be able to teach them as much as they teach me… To see the struggles, hear the stories, their tenacity and purpose.”

He strives to convey to students this: “You never know what you can do before you do it,” he said.

Even today as an administrator, Tarka uses art as much as he can in his interactions with students.

His office is filled with art work — it’s a conversation starter, he said, and if given the right situation, he will create an artistic version of a student’s name or maybe a depiction of their favorite rapper.

“Visual aides are very powerful,” he said. “It’s a way of connecting.”